Nicknames
by MarieofIlledra
Summary: Elizabeth and Lorne have always been close, thanks to SGA-1's habit of disappearing. What happens when John finds out? Sparky! Wier/Lorne friendship


**Okay, so I admit. I am mildly fascinated by the relationship between Elizabeth and Lorne. I was watching Lost Boys, and I thought the way they interacted was so fantastic that I had to write a fic about it. ::Sigh:: This is why I never get my school work done. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Marie**

John's team had been kidnapped by the Genii. Again. Elizabeth, as always, was operating in a state of barely controlled panic.

Lorne sighed, knowing that he was going to have to explain how hopeless it would be to search for them. Again. He steeled himself to endure her wrath, knowing that she was only worried. She was usually reasonable, but with John's team...not so much. He knew why, of course. The entire base knew that their leader and her second in command were half in love with each other. Probably more than half, but unfortunately they were both excellent at not letting the other one know.

This led mostly to Elizabeth watching calmly as John ran off on another suicide mission and then worrying herself sick once he was gone. The base had long ago accepted that it was part of their job to endure this, but that didn't mean that they were happy about it. In fact, there had been several talks on forcing them to admit their feelings, but no plan had emerged just yet. Lorne shook himself out of his thoughts as Chuck signaled him over.

"She's not happy." He stated. Lorne just nodded, his features set. Chuck eyed him carefully before handing him a cup of hot tea. "It's her favorite, it might help." He explained. Lorne smiled gratefully.  
"Thanks." Lorne nodded briskly and walked calmly into Elizabeth's office. She looked up when he entered, waving him toward his usual seat.

"Let me guess. They immediately dialed some where else, there is no way of knowing where, and nothing we can do."

"Yes, Ma'am." He hesitated, then added. "They have gotten out of much worse situations before."

She laughed humorlessly. "I know, Major. And the next time they step through that gate it will start all over again."

He paused, unable to argue with that. "I'll have my men suited up and ready to go the second that we hear anything." Remembering the tea he held, he placed it gently onto her desk.

She looked up in surprise. By now this conversation was more of a formality than anything, as they had both been through it enough times to have both sides memorized. Tea had never been a part of it. Her gaze softened as she noticed that the look of weary resignation he wore mirrored her own.

"I can have one of the other-"

He shook his head. "No ma'am. They are my friends too."

"Of course they are, but you must get tired of cleaning up their messes."

"No more than you get sick of waiting for them to get home."

Their eyes met in perfect understanding. Lorne realized suddenly how lonely it must be for her sitting in her office and waiting for all of her closest friends to turn up either dead or miraculously unharmed. He glanced around her office and noticed a well used chess set in the corner.

"Do you want to play for a bit while we wait?"

After that, it was quite common to see the pair playing chess in her office when John's team was off world...or kidnapped...or MIA...or in the infirmary. Elizabeth had quickly learned that Lorne was a good opponent and an excellent friend. Lorne had discovered that Elizabeth had a wicked sense of humor that reminded him relentlessly of his oldest sister and a new respect for the amount of effort it took to run Atlantis.

The rest of the expedition members had observed their friendship with considerable relief. If she was playing chess with Lorne, it meant that she wasn't pacing restlessly...or staring at the gate... or looking over their shoulders as they worked. Lorne seemed to have a unique ability to calm her down and refocus her attention.

It was Lorne who eventually told Elizabeth that the whole base knew how she felt about Sheppard, was pretty sure Sheppard felt the same, and thought that they would be better off admitting it as soon as possible. Elizabeth had gaped, stuttered, and reminded him about the rules of dating people who worked for her without denying it once. He had followed her around for weeks, tormenting her with suggestive looks whenever she was with John.

In retaliation, she had ferreted out his affections for a pretty Lieutenant and teased him for it mercilessly. She had even talked the science department into 'accidentally' trapping them in a transporter for a couple of hours.

The base followed their arguments with amusement, careful to keep all wind of their friendship from Colonel Sheppard and his team. He could be...possessive... at times, and well...since nobody had wanted to be the one to point out the developing friendship John simply didn't know.

After all, what he didn't know couldn't send him into a jealous rage.

The second that John's team stepped into the event horizon, Elizabeth's normally serene face darkened. "Get Lorne in my office." She ordered, and Chuck hastened to obey. He knew better than to hesitate when she was like this. He motioned Lorne over as soon as he entered the control room.

"Colonel Sheppard and his team went back to MX2-367 to ask for Chaya's help in destroying an artifact." He warned in a low tone.

Major Lorne cursed quietly. "She should have just sent me. Thanks for the heads up."

Chuck watched him walk calmly into Elizabeth's office with no small amount of admiration.

"That is one brave man." He commented to the nearest gate tech, who snorted.

"Braver than me."

Evan took one look at the frustrated look on Elizabeth's face and added another cube of sugar to her tea. She liked it sweeter when she was angry, for some reason. She took it stiffly, and he hit the button that turned the walls of her office opaque. They had discovered that they did that just recently, and found it very useful. Just to be safe, he hit the button that made the office soundproof as well.

Elizabeth sagged instantly. "Thank you, Evan."

"You know my team and I would have been happy to..." He began.

She laughed bitterly. "I know. It was supposed to be your mission, but John thought that she would respond better to him."

Lorne hesitated, then pushed ahead anyway. "He's probably right."

She made a noise that was alarmingly close to a growl and glared. "I _know_ that. That's why I let him go. I just wish..."

Evan shook his head at her second guessing. "You would never forgive yourself if you let your personal feelings get in the way of what was best for the city."

She groaned. "You know, you never actually make me feel better."

Lorne smothered a grin at her frustrated tone. "Thats not my job, Ma'am. I'll leave that to Colonel Sheppard."

Her glare, which had softened considerably, suddenly reappeared. "Oh, hush." She scolded half heartedly. "And I told you never to call me ma'am again."

He relaxed, knowing the worst was over and pulled out the chess set. Neither noticed that they left the walls opaque.

An hour and a half later, a slightly panicked Chuck reluctantly lowered the gate shield to admit John's team. Elizabeth and Major Lorne were still in her office, and with the soundproofing up there was no way to warn them that SGA-1 was back.

John's eyes flickered automatically to Elizabeth's office as he entered, and he stiffened in shock to see the walls were obscured. Chuck's panic went up a notch. Surely some one had told him that her office could do that? He thought back. They had discovered it about a month ago when...John was in the infirmary. Dang it. This was not going to be pretty. Sure enough, John bounded over and immediately began questioning him.

"What the hell happened to Elizabeth's office? And where is she? She usually meets us as we come in."

Chuck decided that a half truth would serve better than lying outright. "We discovered a switch to turn the glass opaque, sir. She's in there, but has asked not to be disturbed."

John grinned. "Cool!" He waved a hand dismissively at the idea of her not wanting to be disturbed. "She will want to hear about the mission." He had learned early on that those commands rarely applied to him

Chuck stepped swiftly to block his path. "She can't hear the door chime, its...uh...soundproof." He admitted reluctantly.

A slight frown crossed John's features. "Oh. Well, I'll just debrief her later then. Where's Lorne? I needed to talk to him anyway."

Chuck cringed visibly. "He's uh...unavailable right now. Why don't you head down to the infirmary and..."

Unfortunately, Major Lorne chose that moment to step out of Elizabeth's office. He paused in the doorway as Elizabeth hit the walls back to transparent and tossed him his jacket.

"Can't leave this, people might think there was something going on." She teased, feeling much better. They both grinned at the inside joke. Now alone next to the console, Chuck groaned aloud.

Lorne turned at the noise to find himself face to face with an irate Colonel Sheppard. He stepped backwards instinctively.

"Liz," he warned urgently, slight panic in his voice. Lorne realized his mistake as John's eyes darkened further.

"Liz." John repeated flatly. Elizabeth carefully stepped between the two of them.

"Colonel Sheppard." She greeted coolly. "Major Lorne, you should probably get back to work."

Lorne didn't stick around to argue, slipping swiftly out the door and heading for the closest transporter. He made a mental note to avoid his commander for a few days.

Behind him, John snarled. "Liz?" He repeated again, voice angry.

Elizabeth caught the jealous tone in his voice and her mind began racing. This was not good. Jealousy implied that he cared if she was spending time with Lorne. She didn't think she could bear knowing that he had feelings for her without acting on her own feelings, and she knew full well that couldn't happen. Her emotions torn between joy and terror, she decided that distance was much safer.

She retreated behind her desk and pulled on her best mask. "How did the mission go, Colonel?"

They had an unspoken agreement that if they used each others rank it meant that any other discussion could wait until later, and she hoped desperately that he would hold to that.

Reluctantly, he did. "It was more than satisfactory for everyone involved, _doctor_."

She tried and failed to conceal the jealousy in her own eyes. He started, then smirked slowly. Damn it, why did he have to be able to read her so well? And why the hell did he have to have such a devastatingly sexy smirk?

She gripped her desk tighter as he strolled casually forward, clearly aware that he had seen more than she intended him too.

She summoned the blandest smile she could muster. "Excellent. I'll have _Evan_ meet up with you later to go over the details." It was her turn to feel victorious as his expression fell. Ha. Wait, no. She was _not_ going to try and make him jealous. That was a bad plan. Bad, bad plan. That led to places that she didn't want to go. _Shouldn't_ want to go. Whatever.

She hastily straightened, putting a few crucial feel between them again. "If you will excuse me..." She began, hoping that he would just let it go for once.

Not likely.

Instead, his eyes narrowed and he dropped the pretense of formality completely.

"I didn't realize that you and Major Lorne were so close."

Elizabeth weighed her options carefully. They would have to have this conversation sooner and later, and at least in her office there were other people around. That would keep her from doing or saying something stupid. Reluctantly, she nodded.

"I do have friends outside of your team, John." She couldn't quite keep the antagonistic tone out of her voice.

His own tone was clipped. "Friends?"  
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, John. Friends. Evan has been with me through a lot."

He leaned towards her across the desk, and she stubbornly held her ground. "He calls you Liz." She raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if that was a random observation or if there was a point. "You never let me call you Liz." The confusion and hurt in his voice, combined with his proximity, was making her dizzy. "Haven't we been through a lot together too?"

His eyes caught and held hers. She clung desperately to her indignation and backed up a few steps, ceding him the desk.

"You are being ridiculous, John. Evan and I are only friends because he was kind enough to keep me from worrying myself sick whenever you are off trying to get yourself killed!" She snapped.

His face abruptly changed from anger to comprehension. She hesitated, alarmed. What had she...she thought back over her last words and winced. "Your team." She amended lamely, far too late.

He stalked towards her, gaze predatory. "You worry about me." He stated smugly. She shook her head wordlessly, backing up until she could go no farther. He advanced farther.

"Yes you do, Elizabeth."

She shuddered slightly at the tone in which he said her name and his smirk widened. "So _thats_ why you wont let me give you a nick name... Elizabeth." He drawled.

"John..." She protested weakly, "you know we can't..."

He paused slightly, then shook his head. "Don't care. I've wanted you for a long time, Elizabeth. If you can honestly tell me that you don't want me, then okay. But don't give me excuses."

She swallowed hard as he loomed over her, leaning an arm casually over her head. "The control room..." She reminded him distractedly, desperately wishing he would back off just long enough for her to lie convincingly.

Instead, he brought his other hand up against the glass on the other side of her. The room went instantly opaque. "Atlantis loves me." He reminded her intensely.

She summoned all her resistance and tried to shove him back a step. "I don't want you, John." She managed.

He peered at her intently, obviously trying to see if she meant it. She hardened her gaze.

"Yes you do." He whispered in a voice that was so tender she almost didn't recognize it. A large hand gently cupped her face, turning it towards him. He brushed a soft kiss across her lips.

Her eyes closed, and it took all her willpower not to move into his kiss. "I don't just want sex John." She admitted bluntly, her control gone. "If we are going to risk this, its not going to be on some fling."

She braced herself for him to pull away, to walk out. To her surprise, he pulled her closer. "I couldn't even if I wanted, 'Lizabeth. Look at me." He waited until their eyes had locked before he smiled lovingly. "I care about you far too much for that."

"Good." She whispered mischievously before pressing her lips against his in a kiss that was anything but chaste.

In the control room, Chuck radioed Lorne. "I can't say for sure, but I think you are okay to come out of hiding."

Lorne sighed. "They fight it out?"

Chuck chuckled softly. "I dunno, they made the room opaque. I'm pretty sure they aren't playing chess though."

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
